Sunday, August 13, 2017

Sevy & The Saturday Hangover...

Credit: Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press

Red Sox 10, Yankees 5…

I have been guilty of using the word “ace” when it comes to Luis Severino but performances like Saturday when Sevy imploded against the Boston Red Sox serves as a reminder that he is not there yet. After the brilliant come-from-behind win on Friday night, it was the Red Sox who caught and then battered the Yankees.

Boston rookie left-fielder Andrew Benintendi, 23, became the youngest Red Sox player to have 6 RBI’s against the Yankees since 1920. He was just the second Red Sox hitter to belt two homers of three or more runs since legendary HOFer Jimmie Foxx did it twice during the 1938 season.

The game started beautifully. Severino retired the first three Red Sox hitters on six pitches to start the game, and the Yankees jumped on Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz in the bottom of the first. Brett Gardner led off with a single to left. After Pomeranz struck out Aarons Hicks and Judge, Gary Sanchez took advantage of the right field porch to give the Yankees the early 2-0 lead.

Credit: Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press

Severino was still dominant in the second inning. He only needed 11 pitches to retire the four through six hitters of the Red Sox lineup, including a swinging strikeout of Hanley Ramirez to start the inning.

The game changed in the third inning. With the Yankees still leading 2-0, Severino walked Christian Vazquez and Jackie Bradley, Jr with one out. A fielding error by Todd Frazier (dropped the ball on the transfer from his glove) allowed Eduardo Nunez to reach base and the bases were loaded. Mookie Betts singled to left in the hole through short, scoring Vazquez and JBJ, and the game was tied. Andrew Benintendi hit a sharp fly that hit the top of the center field wall and bounced over for a three run homer. The Red Sox had taken a 5-2 lead. They got a couple more singles (by Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland), but the Yankees were able to get out of the inning when Xander Bogaerts lined out to left and Brett Gardner’s throw to second doubled Ramirez off 2nd for the final out.

Credit: Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press

The Yankees looked like they were going to make it a game again in the 4th inning. Severino struck out the side to bring the Yankees to bat. Didi Gregorius led off with a single to center. Todd Frazier walked, and Chase Headley singled to center to load the bases. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to first, but Gregorius came home to score and it was 5-3. The Yankees were unable to push any more runs across when both Ronald Torreyes and Brett Gardner popped out against Pomeranz. The missed opportunity hurt because the Red Sox would make the Yankees pay the next inning.

Eduardo Nunez led off the fifth with a single to left. Mookie Betts doubled to left, with Nunez moving to third. Andrew Benintendi came up again and belted his second home run of the game, and 16th of the year, to give the Red Sox an 8-3 advantage. I am sure the 'no doubt about it' blast to the right center field stands caused the bars in Boston to erupt. After Hanley Ramirez flied out, Mitch Moreland doubled to left. Xander Bogaerts reached base on a throwing error by Didi Gregorius and Moreland moved to third. Manager Joe Girardi ended Severino’s day and brought in Giovanny Gallegos. Boston rookie third baseman Rafael Devers greeted Gallegos with a double to center, scoring both Moreland and Bogaerts. Gallegos retired the next two batters but the Red Sox had scored 5 times to increase their lead to 10-3.

The Yankees added a couple of solo home runs in the bottom of the 9th when both Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury went yard, but it was too little, too late. Red Sox reliever Robby Scott settled down and retired the next three Yankees to end the game.

Credit: Getty Images

The Yankees (61-54) fell back to 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox with the loss. It doesn’t bode well for Sunday with Chris Sale pitching for Boston. Sale hasn’t beaten the Yankees this year, but he’ll bring a 1.15 ERA into the game based on two starts against the Bombers. For a team struggling to score, Sale is not exactly a recipe for success. The Tampa Bay Rays were unable to make up any ground on the Yankees and remain 3 1/2 games behind New York. They were shut out by the Cleveland Indians, 3-0. The Baltimore Orioles moved back to 4 games behind the Yankees with their 12-5 win over the Oakland A’s.

Aaron Judge was cold as ice. He was 0-for-4, with two strikeouts. He extended his own team record with his 29th consecutive game with a strikeout. While Judge is still the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, Benintendi is the one making noise in the Dog Days of Summer. Later in the day, I turned on the TV to see Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger belt his 34th home of the season against the San Diego Padres. The other top rookies have made the necessary adjustments. Hopefully Judge can figure this out and follow suit. He is capable of doing to Boston what Benintendi did to the Yankees.

Credit: Robert Sabo

Luis Severino’s final line was very ugly. 4 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 10 runs (8 earned), 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He gave up the two homers to Benintendi. His season record dropped to 9-5 and his ERA was inflated to 3.32. Nice job by Gallegos after he got past the two-run double by Devers. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing only the double, and struck out 4. Bryan Mitchell pitched the final two innings, giving up three hits but no runs.

Credit: Rich Schultz-Getty Images

Odds & Ends…

Saturday opened with news that Masahiro Tanaka had been placed on the 10-day DL with shoulder inflammation. Tanaka will avoid pitching for 5 days but is expected to return when eligible. To take his place, the Yankees recalled reliever Giovanny Gallegos (who relieved Luis Severino in Saturday’s game). I had thought Bryan Mitchell would get the start on Monday in place of Tanaka, but his two innings of work probably means that Luis Cessa will be recalled to make the start against the New York Mets. No announcement has been made regarding who will make the start. Caleb Smith is scheduled to start for the RailRiders today so he’s probably not an option. The long-anticipated MLB debut for Chance Adams will have to wait since Adams pitched Friday night and is not an option for Monday.

The Yankees almost lost another starter when Jordan Montgomery took a ball to the head during Red Sox batting practice. Montgomery was signing autographs for fans down the right field line when he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon. Talking to reporters later, Montgomery said that he’ll be fine and will make today’s start but you could clearly see a laceration on his ear from the seams on the baseball. Very scary but hopefully he’ll have no lasting effects.

Credit: Kathy Willens-The Associated Press

Have a great Sunday! Here’s hoping the Yankees can defy the odds against Sale and took the series with a win. Let’s Go Yankees!